Freedom Comes
by Roy Rainyday
Summary: In an alternate universe where a major world super power has collapsed due to bombs that ended its reign, the Emmeridian society is slowly losing its identity. Watch as an Emmeridian fight not for his dying country, but for those who deserves it. Freedom is coming, and he is here to stay.
1. We're getting out

**As a new author in Fanfiction, I would like to present to you my very first story.**

 **This Kancolle story will be set in an alternate universe that is similar to ours; on earth, world powers, existing and real life military tech and fake versions of real life countries. Why do this? It's because I find it easier to create a story in a world that is my own, not the one that I share with billions of people. In my world, I am free to do whatsoever I like. If I say that there are only three main continents, then there are only three main continents. And if I say that there's only five planets in the solar system with earth being more than just three planets ahead from the sun, then earth is more than just three planets ahead from the sun.**

 **I'm unquestioned. None can argue with the way I set my universe because it is the way it is.**

 **That sounded a little snobbish than I originally thought it would... but anyway, here are three questions that you might ask me:**

 **So, why stick to real life weapons and military technologies when you've in fact created your own universe?**

 **Answer: It will be hard for me to come up with styles, names and purpose of original let's say… ships. I can do that, but I don't think that it will be easy to do as I have to make a believable spec for said ship. The same goes for planes, artillery and other armed forces exclusive equipment or assets. Simply put, it's a waste of time and it will be hard on you, the readers, to understand my story if I start putting original ships and guns. Besides, creating a world with a believable way of living is pretty hard in itself. No need to complicate things.**

 **I get it, but why Kancolle? Are you going to stick with the girls' original names?**

 **Answer: In order… Kancolle's ideas of personifying war ship vessels into humanoid girls is interesting, and let's face it, who wouldn't be happy to see cute girls doing badass things like shooting a 64cm naval gun with smoke coming out from the end of the barrel? And yes, I am going to stick to their original name, but only the for the Kancolle verse's girls only. If I were to include other ship girls, then I will also use their real life name (i.e. USS Arizona, USS Enterprise) but minus the prefix. (So it will be ENS Arizona or ENS Enterprise i.e.)**

 **What is this whole thing all about anyway?**

 **Answer: This story is about war… and the fact that war never changes.**

* * *

Hellingston is a city in North Emmeridia located in the province of Phalades. It is a peaceful city with a population topping at about 2,000,000 people. It is the most populated city in the province of Phalades, it being a major port city makes it a multicultural place where people gather to live. The city has two direct channels out to the sea, and ships constantly fill the ports. This makes Hellingston a perfect place for tourists and even locals to enjoy sea-food. The city is famous for its large, tower monument called Sanctum. It is to commemorate the founding of this city and overall province in general. Though there are other cities in Phalades, Hellingston is the most popular as well as populated one.

Aside from the local tourists' hotspots, this city is also home to an Emmeridian military base, from the navy to be more specific. It is located somewhere near a private channel, separate to the ones used by cargo ships and civilians. It houses the 4th Fleet of the Emmeridian Navy as well as the military personnel that serves within it. It is normal for off-duty sailors to walk around town and in fact, most of the men populace has experienced military training as per Emmeridian law for male citizens. The Emmeridian Navy's 4th Fleet is garrisoned in the Hellingston Naval Base and is responsible for areas near Emmeridian waters only. Due to the narrow area of responsibility, the 4th Fleet does not consist of many commissioned assets; only 14 ships, 125 aircrafts, and 1,600 personnel.

However, that all changed when _they_ happened.

* * *

 **Hellingston, Phalades… 1230 hours…**

* * *

He may look older than his original age, and that has been his pet-peeves ever since he knows it. So, just because he already has facial hair at the sole age of twenty does not mean that he's an old ass man who's in his thirties or shit. A rugged angular face with a sharp jawline is easily the most iconic feature that people would use whenever they are describing him. He wears a tri colored digital camouflaged hoodie with grey, black and white as its three colors. The not so young looking man is here with a purpose, a mission… an objective. He retracts his visors back to the helmet he is wearing to get a clearer view of the raider occupied military base just yards away from his position.

The city of Hellingston is no more. It lays in ruins and tatters. No more Sanctum monument, no more local seafood restaurants as they are all now the same piece of rubble on concrete lying on the ground. Buildings are crumbled or near the state of crumbling, the slightest blow of wind could no doubt topple them over in a mess of concrete and dust. Even the city's once blue and cloudy skies are now colored grey, lowering it into lifeless and dull.

He moistens his drying lips. His grip on the firearm he is carrying tightened.

Codename: Freedom, real name: Ferdinand Walther. He momentarily takes a break from his non-stop walking, as it is the only thing he has been doing for the past ten hours. He is tall, standing at about 6'8 with a lean athletic build that he gained from the short 3 years of serving in the Emmeridian military and survival in urban as well as forest landscapes. He was still young when he joined the regime, but it was worth the sacrifice and tears; no matter how shitty the world has become. The hoodie he has on him is as weathered as his shoes are tight, as it is always there to shield him from the harsh climate of the world. Underneath that hoodie of his is a sand-colored plain t-shirt with no distinctive features or whatsoever. A long pair of dark grey pants made out of parachute material has also done the same job as his hoodie of serving as his apparel, but unlike the hoodie, he does have extras. His hair is a messy mop of platinum that he often hides underneath his hood, because having a hair color like is somewhat inconvenient.

It's an open field between the military base and him. The raiders inside have no doubt equipped themselves with whatever firearms that they can find that were left behind by the sailors who used to own them, and it's likely that they've figured out how to use some of the vehicles inside. If that last point is true, then his job is going to be a lot harder.

The Hellingston Naval Base is not an exactly big base if you discount the actual ports and harbor. It is made out of the main command building, warehouse which is also a part of the harbor and ports, dorms for personnel, several meters square of field for practice, an airstrip with a command tower for planes, hangars for the planes and docks for the ships. If he put those together, then it's still a pretty big place all in all. He hissed a slur of curses underneath his breath.

Trekking to Hellingston is not an easy thing. D.O point was all the way at the end of the city, bordering another city. Central Command said that they couldn't take the risk of dropping him so close to the objective even with a HALO jump. Job is fairly simple, if he is to ignore the major complications along the way. Get inside the base, stealth is not necessary but eliminating all raiders' presence will give him a bonus, follow the transmitter to find the beacon's signal, retrieve precious cargo and escape via jet. Yes, they expect him to steal a jet from one of the hangars and fly back home. Good thing is, he doesn't have to fly all the way across the sea to Fureisia in order to complete his mission, they have a carrier on nearby waters and he'll just have to land there and report to the captain of the ship for debriefing.

He is armed with a custom modded Bravo 18 AKM, which can be said is a hybrid between an AK and an AR-15 combined. Guns like these are rare to come by and he'd only found it recently just yesterday in an abandoned house. The Bravo 18's picatinny railing allows him to install multiple SOPMODs for this gun. This hybrid is equipped with an EOTech 512 holographic sight, a quickdraw handgrip, built in folded stocks, and is easy to wield do to its compact size. He wears a dark black ballistic vest carrier with four plates fitted into it to protect his front, back, and both sides respectively. The vest has multiple tactical pouches that are filled with 7.62×39mm FMJ cartridges. A Walther P99 is holstered on his hip, and his pants' pockets provide easy access to the .40 S&W Hollow Points that he stores there.

His original load out consisted of an M-4 rifle with standard ACOG and grip attachment, and a Beretta 92 as sidearm. Needless to say, he ditched his load out the moment he stumbled upon the gear he has now. The Bravo 18 he found in an abandoned house that probably belonged to a gun geek, while the Walther he actually found from the rotting corpse of a possible raider.

Ferdinand is confident that he is able to take out anyone he sees with little problem, so long as he's smarter, faster and more efficient than them. Raiders are people, but they're the scum that's risen from the bottom of the drainage. All's worth doing is killing them…

Still, infiltrating a raider occupied military base will not be easy, especially when he has no intel of the location. Command briefly told him that the base's surveillance system is dead, but it's highly possible that these raiders managed to activate them. He wouldn't count on waltzing his way in with guns blazing, looks like a stealth approach is needed after all.

Sighing, he resumes walking after a short standing rest. He makes his way closer to the base's wall where there are surprisingly no guards garrisoned nearby it or whatsoever. These guys are idiots… Ferdinand has to give it to the base builders, these metal wired fences are hard to cut. It's a good thing he packed a bolt cutter before being sent here. He slips through the entry way he makes quietly, his fast but quiet movements are the result of experience with missions of this type.

His objective is somewhere in the base, his ping-sensors which is integrated into his visors, allows him to see the current position of his cargo. And from the readings he's getting, he's closer to it than before. The Emmeridian government has fallen apart and it was caused by two particular events that also sparked international chaos. The first one is the Bulkan-Auropos War between the Bulkean continent and Auropian continent with Emmeridia being constantly pressed on by threats coming in from Northern Auropia. The main North Auropian forces are the Skolivia Union and its allies. The fascist alliance was powerful and Emmeridia united with Forlea and Weyles, which originated from Western Auropia, in order to stop the spreading of the fascist allies. The three countries became a major superpower in combating the fascist threats and there was a point where the Allied Forces managed to put the powerful Skolivia Union to a stalemate. However, in retrospect, it was most definitely Emmeridia that suffered the most. They were the main target of the Skolivias and were subjected to the harshest attacks and bombardments, even more than the Forleans and Weylesh combined. Emmeridia bled and it bled hard.

The climax of the war was the finale that ended it all. The final drop… literally.

The Skolivia Union had secretly developed nuclear weaponry and warheads that are way too advanced for that time. It was unclear how a matter this huge was kept a secret, but no one knew about it until the finally dropped the bombs on Emmeridian soil. It was nothing more than a tragedy, because no one expected it. Emmeridia ceased to be one of the world's superpowers when the bombs were dropped, it was reduced to the state that it is in now. A nuclear wasteland of local authorities striving for power. Forlea and Weyles backed away, cutting ties with the country for they also fear being subjected to multiple nuclear bombings. The Emmerdians were betrayed; they were left right just when they needed their allies the most. It was clear who the victors were, but in reality, no one really won.

Shortly after their victory, the Skolivia Union entered a massive power dispute over which states get to own the bombs and spoils of war. It became a civil war known as the Skolivia Civil War. The main leading state, Ectovania, is under harsh pressure from its own union; with so many of them threatening to retaliate should their demands were not met. Then, it became clear. Ectovania decided to play greedy and waged war upon its own people even going as far as threatening them that they will drop the nukes right on top of their heads. Since all of the nuclear WMDs were stored in Ectovania in order for the previous war, that got everyone cold feet. Slowly, other unions began to ally themselves with Ectovania, but those who opposed them still exist until this day. Civil War happened, and it happened quickly. Ectovania and its allies purged cities of people by setting it on fire, sending out elimination squads to massacre and pillage cities clean and many other brutal methods of showing their cruel power. The result of the Civil War leads to the disbandment of the Skolivia Union, separating them into countries. And to those who aren't allied with the New Ectonavian Fascist Party, they're constantly bombarded with threats.

The sad thing is, it was not even a World War, yet.

Four years after the end of the Skolivia Civil War, Emmeridia is still recovering. With the high presence of radiation due to the nukes dropped mainly on North Emmeridia, seeing as that is where the capital is at, people evacuated to the Southern region, causing overpopulation in some major cities like Santo Palos. The now abandoned and isolated North Emmeridia is closed off in order for safety reasons, surviving government figures are still attempting to find ways to clear several critical areas from the radiation. This is where local powers come in. Venturing entrepreneurs saw the unoccupied country as a very high business and profit making opportunity where they are able to exploit what's left of the destruction.

Radiation be damned, because those greedy assholes were willing to do anything for money. Through illegal means, people that have evacuated the North are now able to return in order to set up their own communities. Now these communities are dangerous, yet powerful at the same time. Though they are nothing when compared to the world's surviving government from untouched countries, people are flocking from all over the globe with the same aim of trying to find a very high business and profit making opportunity in the abandoned wasteland. Even though the government closed off the country, they can't always monitor the people that came in, making security very hard to maintain. North Emmeridia consists of 30 provinces, but there are now only five of them with five major rulers ruling over fifteen sub provinces constantly striving for power.

North Emmeridia is divided into five local powers, the East, West, North, South West and South East. These minor-powers are known as Communities.

Ferdinand manages to sneak his way into the hangar, having not encountered any human contact along the way. Is this place even occupied?

The broken structures of buildings are everywhere, ranging from piles of rubbles to larger debris. Hellingston is one of the few cities that weren't hit by the nukes directly, so all of the damages he's seeing must be due to the lack of maintenance done. Speaking of maintenance, there are no ships in this base, not anymore. The 4th Fleet is long gone, with all commissioned ships either at the bottom of the Mordetteranian Sea. He doubts that he'll find any good aircrafts in the hangars anyway, they must've used the good ones for the war. Phalades is one of the provinces located in the Eastern region of North Emmeridia and the ruler of this particular province is known to be an effective ruler who plans to clean radiation completely by letting foreign nations be involved.

The main building of the base is his main priority, as his sensors were directing him towards that particular location. However, it'd be unwise for him to just walk right into the place even with cover, who knows if that place's occupied? Still, he needs to do it. The sooner he can get this finished, the sooner he'll return and finish his contract with his employer.

Ferdinand stealthily makes his way to the main command building of the base. He's glad that he actually puts extra careful on approaching the building because he sees four figures standing right in front of the building armed with weapons. He hides behind the cover of a large concrete debris, peeking his head carefully to observe the figures while not getting detected at the same time.

He looks at the roof of the command building, seeing if they have any snipers posted. Thankfully, there're none.

His visors allow him to have a closer look of what the four figures are doing. He identifies them as raiders because of the unruly and makeshift apparel they are wearing. All four men are armed with assault rifles, M-4s. They must've found those guns from the armory, if not outside. There's also a built in shotgun mic build into his helmet, allowing him to listen in.

"'Ey Mark, the chief wants you to check the armory and make a list of what's inside."

One of the guards, Mark, looks at his buddy with an incredulous expression.

"Wah- again?! This's the fourth time this week! He had others check the damned place, why again?"

The third person shrugged.

"Who knows, just do the job else' ya' won't get paid."

The fourth guy scoffs.

"As if we get paid in the first place…"

"True that…"

Ferdinand sighs, to think that humans have been reduced to something as worse as this… oh well, there's nothing he can do about it. Hope that God'll correct his mistake by letting him blast their sorry heads dead to hell.

He needs to get into the command building, but no doubt that there will be more guards inside that narrow looking building. He'd take out the four goons standing like a fool in front of the building, but his Bravo 18 won't work in that kind of distance. It's either he gets closer or sneak his way to the back and find another entry point.

For some reason, Ferdinand settles with the second option. Those fucks ought to be thankful that they're spared. He makes his way around the building, extending his mission time but decreasing his chance of getting spotted. There's a backdoor, probably used as the exit for the sailors stationed here. And luckily, it's unguarded. He's really **not** surprised at how lax security is here…

With careful movement, he enters the command building. Looking it from the outside may have just make the building look smaller, but the inside is huge. He must be at the south wing of the building, seeing as this is technically the backdoor. The main lobby must be further away, and seeing the repetitive and borderline annoying pinging of his sensor, he can say that that's where he's supposed to go. So he's supposed to go through a hallway in order to reach the main lobby, he'll need to be careful.

Lowering his guard is the last thing he needs. The last time he lowered his guard, it nearly cost him an arm. A raider with shit aim suddenly got kissed by the goddess of luck herself, thankfully, the recoil of his own gun managed to let him dodge the shot aimed for his triceps. If he remembered correctly, that fuck was firing a .308, it would have been scary if the guy didn't miss.

As he is walking, he hears the sound of footsteps coming in from the other end of the hall. He mentally curses while diving to cover at the same time, hiding from the approaching group.

"Can't believe there's an underground storage area in this base…"

"Yeah… we've been here for like two weeks now, how the hell did we miss it?"

"I'ono… but it sucks that the chief's made us organize the damn place, good thing we managed to skip duty uncaught."

"Hmhm, true ta' that."

Sticking his back to the wall, Ferdinand slowly detaches himself while keeping his hands ready on the trigger at all times. After he's perfectly sure that the two raiders are gone, then he resumes his approach to his objective.

So there's an underground storage unit, eh? Something tells him that his objective will be right there, right in the middle of the room with people all over the place. He reaches the main lobby, and there's no sight of contacts or anyone for that matter. There's an elevator in the lobby, he would take the stairs but he's feeling lazy. Pressing the button, he waits while checking his six, making sure that no one's coming near. The universal 'ding' noise that the elevator makes when it arrives short lived when Ferdinand immediately enters the lift.

He presses the bottom most button, seeing as there's nowhere else an underground storage area would be. He holds his Bravo 18 with his left hand, holding it by the grip and he uses his right hand to take his Walther P99 in order to kill the elevators like, creating shadows. There's no elevator music, surprising.

The way down is quick, barely a minute. The door slides open with a ding.

"Hey, what're you doin' he-grrk…"

As soon as the door fully opens, Ferdinand is met with raider who is standing right in front of the elevator's doors. He lets his reflex do the work, reaching to the stiletto dagger he has strapped to his thigh. The raider is so surprised that he doesn't see the swipe coming, all that he knows is that he's already stabbed by dagger right through the neck.

Ferdinand twists the dagger he's stuck on the guy's throat, silencing him for real. The punctured man tries to flail free, but the pain and overall feeling of death gets to him first. He's bloody and limp form falls to the ground. Ferdinand kissed his own lips, seeing as he needs to hide the body now. Pulling the guy's leg, he drags him back into the elevator and simply dumps his body there.

Now he needs to double time, knowing that there's a body that could be found in any minute. His ping-sensor is getting wild, and is now annoying. He ends up in the other end of the hall, where there's a door with the plate that reads 'Underground Storage Unit' fixed on to it. Now why would a naval base have an underground storage unit…?

His employer told him about the nature of the mission. His cargo is what is known as a Ship Girl. It is essentially a robot, android or any other similar terms that would describe an independently thinking, acting cybernetic organism with an A.I installed into their main processors that works in the similar manner as the human brain does. They didn't go into detail when describing it, all that he knows is that it's kept inside a cooling storage device that keeps it in a state of cryo-sleep. Command told him that the existence of these girls is top secret, with only few and selected individuals knowing about it. These Ship Girls are originally from Fian, and that they had a lot of international scientists working on the project that created these girls. These girls are no normal girls, because they're not humans; but he is under strict orders to treat his cargo as one the moment he has activated it… or _her_ , pardon him. The Fianese government is basically untouched, even during the war. They were in the state of isolationism, not really partaking in anything and were not looking to be involved with the war happening between Emmeridia and the former Skolivia Union. Emmeridia sought the help of the Fianese and promised them several territories in their countries, but this plea was made during the Bulkan-Auropos War. Ferdinand concludes that the Fianese must have already begun working on the production of these naval personnel, but the nukes probably caused the entire project to a firm halt.

Command said that no other countries knew about this Ship Girl business, and that this whole thing is only between the Emmeridians and Fianese. Command also told him of the importance of these girls and since they are technically Fianese-Emmeridian property, they must be returned to their respective owners. His employer, after all, is from the Fian and is probably involved in some Fian-Emmeridia joint military group. If that turns out to be true, then he's not surprised. They have their own carriers for god's sake, only countries own those!

He enters a dark, messy but overall untouched area filled with many wooden boxes as well as cardboard ones. He inspects one of the boxes and notices the Emmeridian Army's logo soldered into it. The contents of these containers must be military grade equipment, there're some of them opened through the use of brute force, the condition of the boxes are his clues, and it seems that the raiders here have been using the techs and equipment they found here to arm themselves.

His sensor directs him deeper into the storage unit, and he has yet to encounter anyone in here. Thankfully. After several minutes of following his sensor, he finally finds what he is looking for. It's a larger containment container, made out of metal from the looks of the surface. Yup, it is metal, confirmed when it's cold to the touch. What makes him stare in awe is the fact that it's taller than him alone, standing upright with the Navy's symbol painted in white to contrast with the container's dark. It looks more like a coffin when he thinks about it, with the way how it could easily fit a person inside with no problem at all. Visor's HUD begins acting up, scanning the condition of the container. It detects no radiation contamination or any structural damage that could cause any exposure from the outside air, telling him that this thing is basically untouched. Command told him that these containers were sent to Emmeridia long after the nukes were dropped, but only that. He observes the container closer, noticing the mechanism right on the side of it. It's a numeral input access layout with buttons, Ferdinand does not waste a second as he begins to input the code. He clicks his tongue upon seeing that it rejects his code. He tries re-inputting the code, and to his success, it opens, releasing a cold air that causes the hair of his skin to rise. The upper part, or front in a vertical position, begins to split into two, sliding open.

He can barely keep his jaw from dropping when the content is opened for him to see.

Inside, asleep, is a beautiful girl with the body, figure and height of a twenty year old female. She looks no older than him, well, it's probably because he looks older than her, but if he's to put her looks into age, she's no older than him. She appears to be shorter than him, but being in an elevated position makes her appear taller than she really is. Her complexion is soft and pale, really putting that Fianese origin look believable. The first thing he notices about the currently unconscious girl is her long white hair. Even if she's technically not human, they definitely have that natural color like feeling. In contrast to her white hair is her attire, though the upper part is white, he's guessing that it is some sort of traditional upper garmet, a kimono if he's not mistaken, and a red skirt that only reaches down to her upper knee area, a pair of archery arm bracers-not that Ferdinand would know-, a three fingered brown leather glove worn on her right hand, a pair of black thigh boots with accessories that reminds Ferdinand of the stern of a ship, a metallic chest plate that covers her front region, and a red headband with the symbol of the Fianese flag on the middle. She has her eyes closed and Ferdinand could tell that even with them closed, she is exceptionally beautiful.

"Shoukaku-class Aircraft Carrier, Shoukaku… huh?" he tastes the name in his mouth, feeling it weird due to his Emmeridian accent and pronunciation of a name that comes from a Fianese origin.

"Uuh…"

The sound of her waking up nearly makes him reach for his dagger. Slowly, he observes as Shoukaku wakes up from her cryo-sleep, her eyes blinking open showing him a pair or breathtaking hazel brown orbs that vaguely gives him the impression of an oak tree's bark. He watches in silence as she attempts to register herself to consciousness.

"This… isn't supposed to happen… why am I dizzy…?" blinking several times, she finally realizes that there is someone standing in front of her. "You're… you're not my admiral. Are you…? I'm sorry, I just can't remembering anything, my data is hazy and…"

Ferdinand silences her by putting his pointer just on the surface of her lips, catching her by surprise. "No time to explain. All that you need to know is that I was sent here by the people that made you in order to retrieve you back to and for them." Shoukaku seems slightly intimidated by the heaviness in his tone. She just doesn't show it.

"I-I see… then where are we? Are we not in Hellingston Naval Base?" she asks, confused with her eyebrows raised.

"We are, but you were sent here a long time ago and things changed. A lot. Long story short, nukes were dropped upon Emmeridia and you girls have been deemed lost or destroyed along with several of the population of this country." Ferdinand speaks in a whisper. "We need to get out of here asap, before they find us."

"W-Wait, 'they'?" Shoukaku finds herself whispering too.

"The raiders, bandits, thugs or whatever." Ferdinand informs carelessly. "Just follow me and try to keep low."

Shoukaku steps out from her container, before speaking again. "Then give me a moment to gather my equipment."

Ferdinand watches her carefully as she reaches inside a box compartment that is built inside of the container. She pulls out what Ferdinand assume is a bracelet. She does several body checks, making sure that her attire is fixed and that her headband is fixed tight to her head. She returns back to him, giving Ferdinand a nod.

"I'm ready." Shoukakyu says.

Ferdinand nods in response. "Good, but your clothing's way too bright." He places his Bravo 18 on the ground just beneath him, takes off his camouflage patterned hoodie and hands it over to her after taking out every magazine he stored inside. "Use this."

Shoukaku stares at the piece of clothing dumbly, trying to figure out what she's supposed to do with it. "O-Oh… thank you kindly…" she gives off a maiden like blush before wearing it.

Ferdinand pockets the magazines into his pants' pockets, and it's a good thing that it's enough to fit all of them in. He picks up his Bravo 18 back up from the ground, holding it to his chest. "Follow me and be vewy, vewy quiiite…" he grins. "We don't want to have the entire base on our tails now do we?"

"N-No…" Shoukaku whispers out, feeling nervous.

"Good, then stick close."

Ferdinand raises his visor, allowing Shoukaku to see his bright blue eyes

He presses a button that is present on the side of his helmet.

"Command, we're getting out."

" _Roger that, Freedom._


	2. Flying with wings

"Stay low and keep the hoodie on." Ferdinand Walther, Walther, instructs the white haired 1st ship of the Shoukaku class Aircraft Carrier, Shoukaku with a low voice.

"Y-Yes." Shoukaku does as she is instructed to do, doing it in an instant the moment she hears Walther's commanding voice.

The two sneakily emerges from the underground storage unit and into the hall where Walther killed the guy who he encountered right outside of the elevator. His plan is to use the elevator he took downstairs to find Shoukaku and return back topside and make his escape. His primary escape route is the hangar, where he'll have to hijack a two seated aircraft and regroup with the carrier at sea. He leads the white haired girl, senses to the max.

"Um… sir… are you my officer?" in the middle of their walk, Walther hears Shoukaku speak.

"No I'm not." Walther replies with a quick end. "I used to be a part of the Emmiridian military, but I consider myself free from duty when there's really nothing else to do."

"What do you mean nothing else to do?" Wearing the hood of Walther's jacket, Shoukaku manages to tilt her head. "Don't the military usually give tasks to enlisted soldiers?"

"Yeah, but you should know that ever since the war that happened eight years ago, the Bulkan-Auropos War, when they dropped all the freaking nukes right on top of Emmeridia, the military is a whole new kind of mess that even words can't describe." Walther speaks, keeping his voice as low as possible. "I enlisted after the war, thankfully, and all the military brass had us fresh graduates do were either radiation cleaning, bandit extermination, peacekeeping in the South and those kinds a' boring nonsense. What's worse, I signed up for the air force, and trust me when I say that we had nothing to do… so it was a literal waste of three years of my life." They ascend the staircase and finally entering the hall where the elevators are at. "Not to mention, after the war, there's still the potential threat of getting invaded by the former Skolivia Union and caught up in the middle of their civil war."

"Ah…" Shoukaku lets out a vowel of surprise, her eyes widening. "But the war… we were constructed during the war, then… what happened?"

Walther pauses, stopping his pace in order to turn and give Shoukaku a stern look.

The hoodie wearing girl finds herself flinching when she is subjected to his flat stare. "S-Sir?"

Walther sighs, and at the same time, his features soften. "All that you need to know is that you girls are lost property to the Fianese and Emmeridian government. You girls were meant to be used during the war, but the nukes and Skolivia Civil War ruined it all; throwing whatever plans the Emmeridians and Fianese out of the window and into the bin."

The helmet wearing young man turns his direction back on track. "Now, I'm tasked with the job of gathering you girls, uniting you with the rest of your kind. And hopefully, the pay for this will be worth the hard work." He takes a step forward, but delays it, saying, "And don't tell anyone that I was a part of the military, I don't want them to conscript me back."

Shoukaku nods wordlessly, tailing after the man quietly.

Walther sees the elevator he used earlier to get down here, glad to see that no one has used it. He presses the button with the arrow pointing upwards to hail for his lift. The two waits in silence until a resonating ding triggers their attention back into the elevator. The door automatically opens, and Shoukaku yelps when she sees a person lying in a pool of his own blood. The lights are also busted, showing no signs of lighting up.

"Yeah… about this… I did it, he surprised me." Walther mutters a little awkwardly.

Shoukaku can only stare at the dead body of the still bleeding corpse with her eyes wide. She doesn't speak. She cannot. The sight of the body spangled like a lifeless ragdoll on the elevator's floor is enough to render her ability to speak useless. She does not say anything when Walther presses the ground floor's button and when the door fully closes.

Since it's dark, Shoukaku can relax a little bit without having to see the corpse, but once they've reached the ground floor; she is forced to see the corpse again due to the light coming in from the outside.

"Okay, let's move out. And stick close, there're several raiders patrolling." Walther exits the lift with Shoukaku following him in a much quicker pace than before, still a little shaken from having to stand inside the same elevator as a bleeding corpse.

"Do you have anything that you can use to defend yourself with?" Walther asks, all the while leading Shoukaku through the back halls he used to get to the main lobby of the building.

"N-No… I am unable to activate my rigs whilst on land…" she takes a deep breath, to make up for the one she wasted inside the elevator. "But I will try my best to not get spotted if that's what you're worried about, sir." Her voice is a lot firmer than before, knowing that her inexperience with how things have changed must have been a little bit annoying for Walther.

"Alright, that won't do." They stop, crouching. Walther takes out the Walther P99 from his thigh holster, he checks the magazine by pulling it out before snapping it in again. He hands it towards Shoukaku, pointing the butt of the gun towards her. "Here, use this."

"Wha-Wha?" Shoukaku's back to stammering, her eyes going wide at the sight of the gun that's handed to her. "S-Sir, with all due respect, I can't use your personal weapon! And I have no knowledge on how to operate human firearms, my database does not provide me with any instructions on how to use them."

"Then I'll teach you, simple as that." Walther brings the gun up close to their eyes' level. "Look at the gun closely, and my hands closer. This thing has twelve rounds, you aim and pull this tiny thing called a trigger backwards. Pull once to fire one bullet, and shoot twice if you're aiming for the chest and once if you're going for the head. If the thing's out, press this small button that'll release the magazine and shove a fresh one inside, and pull back lightly on the slide until it locks back in place. Understand?"

A bit hesitant, Shoukaku takes the handgun regardless. She understands the instruction, but there's a huge difference between understanding them and being able to apply them into using the tool. The fact that Walther has instructed her to shoot twice when aiming for the chest and once when aiming for the head suggests that they might be doing some fighting. And that is what worries her.

Shoukaku grips the gun in her hand, feeling it a little bit weird and off. It's safe to say that she can't quite put her grip into it, literally.

"If we're lucky, we won't have to shoot our way out of here." Walther tells her as he resumes their exit, making it outside of the building.

"Where exactly are we heading?" Shoukaku asks, both of her grip on the gun she is currently holding.

"The hangar." His answer surprises the Ship Girl. "Command says to return via a jet that was left over at the base ever since the war. If my guess is right, there's going to be at least a fighter jet that I can use to regroup with the carrier at sea."

"A-A jet? We're going to fly in an aircraft?" As if like a young child, Shoukaku cannot control her excitement. "And we're going to return to a carrier?"

"Yes, that's true. Might seems weird for you eh? Since you're designed as a carrier and all…" Walther has just successfully lead the both of them halfway through the field and nearing the air station. "So you're a ship girl, how does that work anyway?"

"We are identified as such, it is the name of our project too." Shoukaku starts. "I am designed to act similarly as a normal aircraft carrier vessel, as in the sense that I'm able to launch planes and maneuver around the ocean's surface. To put it simply, think of a person being capable of skiing through waters while doing things that a warship could do."

"Hmm… I get it." Walther sees the air station just a few miles ahead, its runway clear of anything and functional for taxi. "Heads up, runway's ahead." He spots a huge half dome like structure placed neatly just beside the runway, next to a flight tower that's no longer functional. "Okay, let's head in there."

"Wait a minute sir!" Shoukaku halts Walther's attempt of advancing. "My radars are detecting signatures in the airfield, I advise to proceed with caution."

Walther breathes out, ignoring the bead of sweat that trickles down his chin. "Whew, good thing you told me. Alright, let's proceed with caution and remember what I told you. If there're hostiles, let me take care of the ones further away, you'll watch our six so that no one sneaks up on us."

Shoukaku affirms the order wordlessly, choosing to raise her gun to an eye's level. She is not familiar with aiming down the small sights of the firearm or any at all for that matter, but it seems that it's her only choice should a fight happens. They've entered the airfield and are nearing the first hangar. Shoukaku reacts in alarm, immediately saying, "Sir, hostile signatures inside, what should we do?"

"Let's check first, if they're scattered, we'll take 'em out one at a time, but if they're together, we'll take 'em out directly." Walther peers from the corner of the hangar's opened entrance, peering inside. "I spot four hostiles in total, two by that aircraft over there and two more on the elevated platforms attached to the walls of the interior, can you confirm?"

"Affirmative." Shoukaku nods. "How should we do this?"

"…Shit." They're out in the open, and thinking won't help their case. "I'll sneak in and take out the hostiles inside, can you go up the stairs on to the platforms and eliminate the rest there?"

"S-Sir?" Shoukaku is surprised by his orders, retracting her head. "Are you sure? I-I'm not confident if I could do it…" she whispers quietly. "To kill a person is just…"

"Look, if it helps, know that these people here are probably rapists." Walther states with a cold tone, losing its warm. "They've probably hit a small settlement somewhere before hitting this place, pillaging, killing and enjoying the 'spoils' of their little campaign. They've done bad things; think of it as doing the world a favor by ridding it off two beings that shouldn't even call themselves human."

Shoukaku's fingers got cold, a noticeable lump bulging on her throat. She swallows the nervousness down, Walther's suggestion echoing inside her head. She closes her eyes shut, wincing as her consciousness, or at least what she thought is one, start whispering. She decides.

"…Moving in to eliminate enemies."

Walther does not say anything; he quickly moves to his position, separating from Shoukaku for a brief time to take out the hostiles that are currently admiring the aircraft parked inside of the hangar. Now that he's up closer, he identifies the aircraft to be a Grumman F-14 Tomcat, or simply known as the Tomcat. It appears to be in pristine condition, but the lack of missiles attached to the wings suggests that it is not equipped with any ammunitions.

His weapon is unsuppressed, and he has no time to put it on. He takes aim, putting the raiders' head in between his sights. The loud sound of his gun going off echoes loudly due to the natural dome shaped structure of the hangar, he also hears two more gunshots fired off shortly after his two shots, telling him that Shoukaku has managed to get the deed done. He signals over to Shoukaku, telling her to come to him immediately. He is impressed, more on surprised actually, when he sees the white haired woman who is wearing his hoodie jumped over the railings of the platforms instead of heading back down by using the stairs.

"Sir." He notes the lack of nervousness and anxiety in her voice when she chooses to acknowledge him.

"Good work." He praises, it's the least he could do for now. "Good news, I've found our ride."

Shoukaku is shaken off from the feeling of having just killed two raiders the moment she pays full attention to the aircraft that is before her. She marvels at the sight of it, in disbelief that such a beautiful aircraft could ever exist. "Marvelous… truly incredible." She breathes out, unable to contain the awe in her voice. The Tomcat's sleek form is unlike anything her database can provide her, the aircraft's wings are swept back, unlike the normal straight and unswept ones that she knows of.

"It's a two-seater fighter jet," Walther grunts as he checks the dead bodies of the two raiders he killed earlier for ammunitions. To his contentment, he manages to scavenge several 7.62×39mm round magazines for his Bravo 18 AKM. "Since this thing's left out in this base without proper maintenance, system's bound to be rough, and fuel at a minimal level… wouldn't actually count on it, but this will have to do." He switches to the built in radio in his helmet. "Command, I've secured a jet for evac."

" _Noted, Freedom. Can you confirm that it is in good condition for flight?"_

Walther hops on the left wing of the aircraft, balancing his way to the glass cockpit with the intent of opening its canopy. When he manages to get it opened, he is not surprised to see the cockpit untouched, with two pilot helmets as well as oxygen masks still in good condition left seated on the seats of the aircraft.

"I'm checking the plane." He hops on into the front cockpit, wasting no time in flicking switches and pushing buttons in order start the aircraft's engine. He flicks the lighting switches for the aircraft, just so that he could see them more clearly. He begins with turning the anti-collision lights on, and then setting the engine crank before moving on with the rest of the buttons and switches necessary in order for takeoff. The aircraft's engine hums loudly, indicating that is on. Walther has already turned on the lights outside and inside of the jet, and he's finally sure that this plane will be able to be used.

"Command, aircraft's good for flight. Fuel's surprisingly at max, but there's no missile ammunitions." He rechecks everything. "But integrated gattlings are loaded to the max. Everything's fine since we're just using it to regroup with the carrier."

" _Roger that Freedom and good luck."_

"Freedom out." He shuts off communications. "Hey Shoukaku!" his Emmeridian accent is bleeding through as he pronounces the Ship Girl's name. "Hop on in the back, we're getting outta' here!" the jet's engine begins to hum louder, telling the pilot that it's ready for liftoff.

"Y-Yes!" both anxious and nervous, Shoukaku hastily climbs onto the wing of the aircraft, clumsily hopping into the back seat of the cockpit. "I-I'm in sir!"

"Good!" Walther calls out. "Make sure that your hands are not outside of the plane cuz' I'm closing the canopy." The canopy slides down, snapping shut. "Canopy, closed! Now put on your helmet and oxygen mask, I won't have to put on a helmet cuz' I have one already!" Shoukaku raises her hood, switching it for the pilot's helmet before putting on the oxygen masks, snapping it shut on her face. "Good! Now hold on, I'm gonna' make this thing fly in the air."

The engine hums at the max, and the plane's wheels begin turning, moving the plane forward. Walther maneuvers the plane out of the hangar and into the runway, where he's taxiing it in order to attain speed in preparation of liftoff.

"Shou, can I call you that, you'll be my co-pilot. Watch the radar for anything unusual like a—RPGEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Shoukaku shrieks when a rocket propelled grenade warhead whooshed past them, disappearing in a trail of smoke before exploding several feet away in the air behind them. "Shit! Shit! We've been had quicker than I anticipated, hold on Shou, I'm going full throttle!" he pushes the throttle on the panel all the way to the max, increasing the plane's flight speed. Several more warheads zoom past them, failing to hit their target.

"FUCK C'MON!" Walther curses loudly, losing his cool. "If this keeps on then we're gonna' get splashed before we even hit the sky!" as speed begins to build up, the plane is ready for flight.

Walther pulls hard on the stick, manipulating the flaps by raising it so that the plane can lift. "We're off the ground!" the plane is steadily increasing altitude, and making its way into the sky and towards the open sea.

Shoukaku breathes in deeply, thinking that holding her breath may help deal with the sudden change in force. This is when Shoukaku notices one crucial detail. "S-Sir! You are not wearing a flight suit, are you not?"

"I'm not." Walther replies, his voice considerably calmer since they've escaped the RPGs' firing range. "But don't worry about it, I'm… _'engineered'_ to fly even without a flight suit on." He can understand Shoukaku's concern when flying a jet without proper equipment on. Basically, a flight suit will protect him from the physical stress of acceleration when inside a jet, pretty important equipment. "Just sit back an' relax; hell you can sleep if you wanna'. The carrier's not that far away, and I'll even tell you when we're going to land."

"No, I'd rather not sleep." Shoukaku immediately answers. "To be inside a flying aircraft… it certainly opens up the mind!"

As weird as it is, an aircraft carrier flying inside a carrier based aircraft is not really impossible; not impossible when the aircraft carrier's a Ship Girl like Shoukaku and the plane being a two seater aircraft like the F-14. Shoukaku peeks out from the cockpit, leaning onto the glass hatch to view the ocean from above.

"We're flying at normal altitude, Angels 20." Walther smirks, an idea slowly forming inside his head. "Why not do several tests while we're on the air, eh?"

He flicks his stick to the right, changing the direction. "Right, check." He then does it to the left. "Left, check." He ascends, pulling the stick backwards. "Ascend, check." Then he goes for a descent. "Descend, check."

"A flight check, sir?" Shoukaku questions, her head tilting slightly.

"Yeah, can't be too sure." Walther replies while leveling his aircraft, returning to his previous altitude. "I'm gonna' resume to the thrusters next, so hold on." He slowly pushes the throttle on the left panel of the cockpit, putting it to the max. The Tomcat's retractable wings sweep backwards, allowing the plane to accelerate faster. "Acceleration, check." Then he does the opposite, causing the plane to decelerate. "Deceleration, check." The airplane's wings extends, spreading apart due to the decrease in speed.

"Next, machine guns." He fires off the red hot fury being delivered in the form of a repeatedly fired 20mm M61 Vulcan Gatling gun sprays forward and into the water. "Can't use missiles since we have zero payloads, but it's not like we're hoping to use 'em anyway."

"Simply amazing…" Shoukaku breathes out, still not believing that she's sitting inside of a flying carrier based aircraft.

"Oh yeah, wait 'till I do this…!" the plane suddenly makes a sharp turn, causing the passenger in the back to shriek in surprise. The sudden change of direction puts a lot of pressure for the both of them, but Shoukaku has no need for worries due to her being a Ship Girl.

"W-W-W-Wait! Don't suddenly turn!" Shoukaku shrieks loudly, being caught by surprise.

"Hah! That's not even sudden." He suddenly decelerates, quickly trading altitude for airspeed, doing a perfectly executed aileron roll. "Yeeehaw!"

"Pyaaaaah!"

Shoukaku's screaming is music to his ears.

* * *

"Unidentified aircraft coming in from the west, this is the flagship Highlander. State your purpose or we will have fighters shoot you down."

Walther grimaces at the mention of being shot down by fighter jets. "Whoa, what's with the threat already?"

It's exactly 1523 and it seems that they are within the carrier's radar range. Walther has been flying the Tomcat, and with the plane going at supersonic, it didn't take long to reach the fleet he's supposed to rendezvous with. "Command, I'm in contact with the flagship carrier Highlander, and they're threatening to send fighters to shoot me down, can you clear things up with them?"

"On it Freedom. Flagship Highlander, this is Central Command speaking. Unidentified aircraft is to land and report with the carrier's commander in order to complete a vital assignment under the mission code CRANE." Central Command responds in Walther's stead. "That should give them a heads up, Command out."

"Thank you Command." Walther replies, circling around the fleet below him. "Wow… to think that they have a functioning fleet… unimaginable."

"You do not know, sir?" Shoukaku asks, wondering how Walther could not know of such thing.

"Yeah." The ex-military replies quietly. "When I got hired by my employers, who I assume to be a joint organization between what's left of the Emmeridian government and the Fianese, they only told me to follow whatever orders they have for me; and that means retrieving other ship girls like you. You're the first one I've retrieved, so this is technically my first mission. I don't exactly know how big they are, but since they have a fleet… wow."

Shoukaku watches at the fleet consisting of no more than six vessels on the water from her place. She identifies the large aircraft carrier to be the flagship Highlander. The fleet has three more frigates and a battlecruiser, a pretty diverse combination but it fills all the blank spaces with the required requirements. Firepower from the battlecruiser, fast interceptors from the frigate escorts and air superiority from the carrier.

"Freedom, Central Command has just identified you. You're clear to land on the Highlander, please assume the optimal landing point we've highlighted into your HUD." The operator pauses. "And sorry for before, can never be too careful."

"Apology accepted Highlander." Walther replies coolly, before switching course and heading towards the landing point identified on the HUD. "And roger that."

Naturally, the Tomcat slows down, its retractable wings spreading apart to help with air resistance as it dives down steadily in order to make a land. "Wheels, deployed." Walther steadily keeps the plane balanced. "Resistance minimal… and shutting off the engines."

After getting the landing procedure cleared, several airmen or sailors runs up to the plane with ladders. Walther opens the canopy, letting himself breathe fresh air once again. He takes off the oxygen mask, and Shoukaku does the same. Since they are technically in the middle of the ocean, the heat of the sun is far more intense than on land. Walther is already building up a sweat, and Shoukaku too no doubt since she's wearing his hoodie. With the help of several airmen and sailors, the two exit the aircraft and is escorted to the stairs that leads them into the ship.

"Contractor under the codename Freedom." One airman, dressed in a flightsuit like several others on deck, approaches him and Shoukaku. "I'm Major Harper, the Commander will want to see you. Sorry for not letting you land immediately, we just got word from Central Command that there'll be company joining us." a tall man, dressed in the olive drab colored flightsuit, short brown hair and an overall older face. He smiles as his eyes trail towards the Tomcat. "To think that they left a Tomcat to rust… what were we thinking?"

Walther says nothing, other than saluting the officer before him. He may not be affiliated with the military, Army, Navy or Air Force for that matter, but he's still speaking to a Major; and he's a freaking contractor, these people pay him. "Major, precious cargo retrieved." He says without gesturing to Shoukaku.

Harper switches his gaze at the standing Ship Girl, who stiffens the moment it landed on her. "M-Major, Sir!" she does a salute, legs straight and posture similar to an icicle, straight and stiff.

"At ease you two," Harper laughs at both of their reaction of meeting him. "Let's get to the lower decks asap, we have another operation coming up. And EFS Shoukaku," the white haired ship girl blinks at the acronym. "it stands for Emmeridian-Fianese combined forces Ship. Anyway, Shoukaku, you'll be happy with the lot waiting for you downstairs."

And so, the three descends the stairs and into the lower deck.

"Shoukaku-nee!"

"Shoukaku-san!"

"Shoukaku!"

Several female voices simultaneously cry out at the sight of the white haired ship girl, who is still wearing Walther's jacket, entering a cabin through the metal hatch that is opened midway. A flash of white, red and dark green crashes onto the white haired hoodie wearing ship girl; emitting a small cry of surprise from the former.

"Shoukaku-nee!" the pigtailed girl with the same manner of clothing as the one that Shoukaku is wearing cries into the latter's armored bosom, crying softly as she rests on the girl's embrace.

Taken aback at the sudden greeting, Shoukaku can't register things quickly. She glances down, staring at the form of the girl that is currently crying onto her. "Z-Zuikaku…" her voice breaks, and her chest becomes heavy yet light at the same time. "ZUIKAKU!" Shoukaku returns her sister's fierce embrace with an equal amount of fierceness, the fire of sisterly love and passion burning brightly within their hearts… or internal batteries, depending on who's asking.

Walther wisely watches the exchange and flocking of more weirdly dressed girls some of them who appears to be in their early teens. The Major walks over to him, eyes also fixed to the group of girls.

"Strange isn't it?"

"Huh?" Walther utters in surprise at being caught staring.

"It's so strange that robots or machines like them can act like normal human teenagers, huh?" The Major asks, crossing his arms. "I have a girl back home; she's starting high school this year. It's a good thing that my family evacuated the north for the south before the bombs were dropped… I have friends who weren't as fortunate as me, God bless them."

Walther shifts uncomfortably on his legs, lowering his Bravo 18 AKM and holding it with one arm. A brief feeling of guilt washes over him, like the shore of a small lonely beach. The sounds of multiple footsteps causes Walther to throw away the feeling immediately, and his attention to them.

Walther sees Shoukaku and another girl who he assumes to be her sister approaching him walking side by side.

"Who's this loser, Shoukaku-nee?"

Walther's lips ceased to look neutral. He expresses annoyance by expressing a small frown, his eyes unreadable due to them being covered by the visor of his helmet. The Major grins in amusement over how will the nosy Ship Girl upon learning that Walther's in fact the one who retrieved her sister.

"Zuikaku!" Shoukaku shouts in a reprimanding tone. "Don't be rude, Walther-san is the one who retrieved me, activated me and delivered me back here! Apologize, Zuikaku!"

"What really? But he looks like a thug!" As if to prove her point, she rudely points a finger right at the male 'thug' who is frowning even deeper and more obvious. The pigtailed girl is then put under the pressure of Shoukaku's disapproving glare, prompting her to sigh. "Fine…" she then begins to contradict her earlier point, as she bows politely to the aforementioned 'thug'. "Thank you for reuniting my sister with me, I really appreciate it."

Thankfully, Walther's eyes are hidden underneath the visor he's wearing, otherwise she might've seen the rolling he does with his eyes. But he at least mutters a small utterance of acknowledgement at her thanks. He'd talk back if she actually apologized to him first before thanking him.

"A-Ah! That's right!" To the rest's, even the Major's, curiosity, Shoukaku begins to unzip the grey hoodie she is wearing.

"S-Shoukaku-nee?! What are you doing?!" Zuikaku is quick to get on her sister's case, demanding why she is suddenly taking the piece of clothing off.

"W-Walther-san, thank you for the jacket…" albeit a little shy, Shoukaku still manages to outstretched both hands that are holding the piece of clothing that is Walther's hoodie. Audible 'oohs' and 'kyaas' come from the rest of the girls, sans Zuikaku and the Major's sporting a large smirk he doesn't even bother hiding.

Walther's annoyance dissipates quicker than a spray of perfume into the air. "O-Oh yeah…" he awkwardly reaches for his rightful property, draping it over his free arm singlehandedly since his other one's occupied with holding his AKM. "You're welcome." Now Shoukaku's not the only who's red on the face.

"It's really reassuring for us to know that we have another carrier on board the… carrier." The Major chuckles at the irony. "Let the rest introduce themselves to you then."

Another girl who looks younger and noticeable shorter than the two carrier sisters walks in, letting all her attention to her. Unlike Shoukaku and Zuikaku, she is dressed in a far less complicated attire to describe. Walther is reminded by the uniforms that middle school girls in Fianese animation wear, with it designed to look like a sailor's uniform and probably called the same thing. But those are white and navy, the one she's wearing is black and red. The core color is black, embezzled with white linings as well as a long red ribbon-tie hybrid tied underneath the collars of her uniform. The sleeves of her uniform is colored white with a red line circling around it, she wears a black short thigh length skirt with a the upper part circling her waist colored in white, a pair of tall black socks, two brown shoes, a pair of black gloves with white wrist parts and a unique hairpiece clipped to the bangs of her oddly styled hair. The twin flaps remind Walther of dog ears, and no one can sue him for that. Her black hair also has a cowlick that sticks out of her head like an antenna, she seems pensive and quiet but seeing as she's the first one to step in for introduction, maybe that's not true.

"I'm Shigure, the 2nd ship of the Shiratsuyu class Destroyers." She does a light but nonetheless formal bow.

Another one wearing the same type of apparel like Shigure practically bounces in, making it easy to tell who the more active one out of the pair is. Unlike Shigure who has black hair, this girl has a straight platinum blonde hair with a black ribbon tied in a loop around her front bangs, her eyes are jade green instead of Shigure's cerulean blue.

"Hi I'm Yuudachi, a Shiratsuyu class Destroyer, the 4th one. Nice to meet you mister, poi."

"Wait, 'poi'?"

Yuudachi quirks her eyebrow, tilting her head a little bit. "Yeah, poi. A problem with that, poi?"

"No…" Walther says slowly, not really finding Yuudachi's strange habit triggering his pet-peeve. "Unless you want me to?"

Yuudachi looks even more confused, a troubled expression showing on her face. "No, I don't think I want you to, poi…"

Brushing the awkward atmosphere off the place, a taller girl who appears to be within the same age range as Shoukaku and Zuikaku steps forward next. She has a light green colored and long sleeved sailor uniform on, with a white line circling the collar area, a black ribbon tied underneath the collar, a green skirt which is actually a darker shade of green than her upper uniform, a pair of black naval socks with a white anchor design printed on them, and a pair of brown loafers. Her hair is long, colored in brown; her eyes are wide and have the similar color as her hair.

"Hello, I'm Ooi." She starts her introduction. "I'm the 4th Ship of the Kuma class Light Cruisers." A sinister smile suddenly appears on her face, a sickeningly sweet yet sinister smile. "We won't have any quarrel if you leave Kitakami-san and me alone."

Walther shrugs, not really finding her term unreasonable.

Another girl dressed in the same clothing as Ooi lazily waltz in. this one has a long braided black hair, and her eyes practically shows that she's an easy going person.

"Name's Kitakami, howdy." She flicks him a lazy salute, taking her position beside the brown haired girl.

"Right back at'cha." Walther flicks back a salute in the similar manner as Kitakami did. He turns over to the Major, wanting to bring out why he's here. "So where's the commander?"

"She'll be right here in a moment." The Major assures him. "If my guess is right, then she's confirming things with central command right now. So relax for a while." Walther shrugs, placing his pack down, tying his hoodie around his hip. "So where're you from kid? Out of all the contractors central could've hired, why you?"

"Dunno." The helmet wearing young man says honestly, shaking his head. "I was in the South, doing a boring job as a security for a private owned company whose name I didn't really care cuz' it don't really matter to me. A good buddy o' mine heard the rumors of some government peeps hiring ex-law enforcements, soldiers and even security guards like me for a position some'ere. I got interested and did a little bit of digging." He lowers his head, narrowing his eyes at the metal floor. "The three days later, you people knocked on my door offering me this job."

"O' course, I didn't accept it at first; too freakin' shady. But they gave me the details, and I see no reason to not sign up. 'sides, I was inches away from being killed by boredom." The hired contractor summarizes his explanation.

"That's it?" The Major asked, his tone a little bit amused and more incredulous. "Jus' cuz' you're bored?"

"Yup." Walther confirms with a thumbs up. "That and money problem. Jus' being a security guard isn't enough to keep me fed; pay's terrible, working place's terrible and the job's not worth doing now that I think of it."

"So, so!" Yuudachi butts in, interested in the conversation. She hops over to Walther, enthusiasm diffusing out from her. "What then?! How did you find Shoukaku-san, how did you bring her back here, and what's that gun?"

"Then… I got hired. Central told mere where to go in order to find her," he points his thumb at the white haired carrier. "I used a jet to get here, otherwise how else will I get on this ship and this gun is a hybrid between two famous guns." He answers the excited destroyer's questions in order.

"Hmm…" the Major hums out loud, examining the Bravo 18 that Walther is holding. "That's a rare gun you got there son, central lent it to you?"

"Nah," Walther shakes his head. "Found it while I was making my way to the military base, it's dapper as fuck; ain't gonna lie." He then looks at Shoukaku. "Speaking of which, Shou," 'Shou' reacts, her face turning red. "I lent my Walther to you, right?"

"A-Ah yes!" Shoukaku is reminded of the handgun Walther lent her while they were still in the base. She takes it out from the rather baggy pocket that is stitched into her hakama. "Here you go, Walther-san."

"Welcome." He receives the P99, holstering it in its rightful place. "Now I feel complete." He grins.

"Shoukaku-nee… I can't believe that you're letting him call you something as crass as that…" Zuikaku mutters disbelievingly at her sister after hearing the nickname Walther has given to her sister. "It sounds cute though…" she's now more upset at not being the first one to call her sister that.

"Z-Zuikaku!" Shoukaku hisses embarrassedly. "It's embarrassing as it is for me… and I understand that Walther-san isn't very familiar with Fianese names so…" she trails off, getting lost in her own embarrassment.

"All of you are here, good."

A curt, strict but attentive female voice suddenly enters the room; the speaker herself having just stepped inside. Major Harper assumes a straightened standing pose, standing at attention with his arms doing a salute at the woman. The woman is no doubt the officer that Walther's supposed to give his debriefing to. He can see that she's an important figure in the ship, maybe the entire freaking navy. She has four silver stars circling the embroidery on her CO uniform, with the black and gold color palette contrasting to the white background. She wears a naval officer's cap, with the golden anchor motif stitched right to the front of it. She looks strict, acts strict and sounds strict; so she is strict. Her black hair is tied to a single ponytail that is not too long or too short; and judging from the folder she's holding in one of her gloved hands, she means business.

The girls followed Major Harper in standing on attention at the presence of the superior officer. They are hasty, but their reaction time is faster than several of some freshly released graduates that Walther can think of.

"Admiral Yoko!" the girls and the Major salute as one with an equally loud voice.

Walther merely stands straight, both hands on his gun. He does not react when the admiral solely places her attention on him, narrowing her already narrow eyes on him. "You are operator Freedom." Not a question. "And you have brought Shoukaku back with you too, good. That means I can start briefing you guys earlier than planned." She brings a gloved fist to her lips, coughing. "All of you here will participate in the invasion that will be conducted tomorrow morning at exactly 0100 hours. All ship girl personnel will be aiding the fleet in taking out the Eastern faction's naval assets and invading forces so that they can land on the beached. We will regroup with the 2nd Emmeridian-Fianese fleet later today; their roster consists of amphibious ships that could transport ground units into the beach."

She pauses.

"At the same time, Major Harper and his squadron, Arjuna Flight, will be using the F-15s to aid ground forces during the operations. The Easterners will do everything in their power to stop us, so expect a lot of anti-air resistance Major. And you…" her eyes scan the hired operator. "What should I do with you? Central command told me that you are allowed to choose whether you want to participate in the invasion or not. So, what's your answer?"

Walther relaxes, even if he knows that he should not be in the position to do so. "I'll join."

The Admiral raises an eyebrow of subtle surprise. "Are you sure? You will not be forced to participate, nor will your pay increase if you participate in this operation."

"I'm sure."

It's the longest she's gone with a tense moment of silence lingering in the air. "Very well, you can choose on which division you want to partake in. If you want to join the ground units with aiding the invasion advancement, I will have to send you behind enemy's line for us to get a head start for this op. If you want to take the fight in the air, I'll have you join the Major's squadron as a temporary member. Or if you prefer on staying here, I can have you help the sailors."

Walther lowers his gun, holding it with one hand. Normally, he'd choose to participate in ground combat. But being all sneaky-like isn't exactly his best forte. And he's not looking to be ordered around by vulgar sailors. "I'll spread my wings and fly."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Hm… Major, do we have any extra jets for him?" the Admiral asks.

"No, but he has his own wings, admiral. He secured an F-14 in order to get here. Though it isn't exactly suitable for the type of the operation, he can keep enemy fighters off our backs while giving us more chance to focus in aiding the ground units." Major Harper reasons logically. It makes sense. Though having a multirole ordinance capability, the F-14's better off being a fighter instead of doing air support runs. "Depending on how heavy anti-air resistance is, we can let him help." The older man throws a cocky smirk. "If he's good enough."

Walther openly scoffs, stretching his neck sideways before returning it to its natural position. "Why don't we take it to sky right now and I'll show you just how easy it for bogeys to get splashed, ol' man."

Determined to end the growing rivalry between the contractor and the Major, the admiral steps in, her stern voice stopping both men. "The two of you, quit it." They respond quicker than lightning. "Walther, I'll approve of your decision in joining our air units for this fight. Your job is as simple as making sure that the Major and his squadron are safe and capable of returning back here safely. I'll inform the boys on duty to rearm your plane with the necessary load outs. Is that enough?"

"More than enough ma'am." Walther says with a mix of honesty and coolness in his voice.

"Then welcome abroad, operator." The admiral smirks, tipping her naval cap lightly right at the tip. "From now on, you're as good as any other sailors and pilots under my command; so I expect you to treat me the same way as they do. Understood?"

With a grin on his face, Walther performs a full-fledged formal salute. "Aye aye ma'am!"


End file.
